month. call 1-888-246-2612 or visit homeserve. com. msnbc premium gives you early access and ad free listening to rachel maddow. chart topping series msnbc original podcast's exclusive bonus content and all of your favorite msnbc shows now ad free. subscribe on apple podcasts. the pro bowl games are here. tune in to a two day competition as the league's biggest stars take their games to the next level. the pro bowl games presented by verizon starting thursday, january 30th. flag football finale on sunday, february 2nd. >> good to be with you. i'm katy tur. heads up to jd vance. you might be needed to confirm pete hegseth for secretary of defense, after it seemed like hegseth was becoming a shoo in for confirmation, the chair of the senate armed services committee, republican roger wicker, indicated there could be three republicans now voting no.

two just did. in the procedural round of voting, and one of them also issued a scathing statement on that no vote. hold tight. we're going to get you up to speed on whether this thing is going to pass or not. when it does, go to the full senate floor. there's also big moves being made behind the scenes on donald trump's policy agenda. he's signed a whole lot of executive orders, as you know, allocating a ton. >> of new powers. >> to enact his agenda. and now republican leaders are working to get him the money he needs to do all that. they're also working to find new ways to cut back, looking for so-called payoffs to cover president trump's desired tax breaks. think about imposing tariffs and getting rid of social welfare programs. we're going to explain which ones could be at risk. joining us now to get into it immediately is nbc legal correspondent lisa rubin, nbc news correspondent, congressional correspondent julie sirkin, punchbowl news co-founder and msnbc political contributor jake sherman, and chief white house correspondent for the new york times and msnbc political analyst peter baker.

all right, julie, to you, the press, the procedural vote known as cloture has just ended. >> what happened? >> well, what happened is that with a vote of 51 to 49, pete hegseth has now advanced to the final vote, which we expect to happen at 8 p.m. tomorrow night, maybe even earlier, but significantly. katy, you saw senator susan collins vote against that procedural vote. you also saw senator lisa murkowski do the same. the only two republicans, by the way, that did so, although other republicans have indicated to me privately that they will be considering all of these allegations and perhaps could change their vote in the final vote tomorrow. we just got a very lengthy statement from senator susan collins confirming that she will be a no on that final vote tomorrow. in it, she points to that past statements about women in the military. that really is the focus of her statement. and in the end, she says that she is concerned about this. women comprise, of course, such a large percentage percentage of the military. she appreciates that hegseth had met with her. she appreciates what he had to offer, but she says

that he appears to lack a sufficient appreciation for some of the policies in the military that is required to follow because they are codified in the laws of the united states. and she says, therefore, i will vote against the nomination. other republicans we've been talking to do say that they believe that they have the votes, despite these two voting against him. as you can see, republicans, of course, have a four vote margin because jd vance could break any tie. so for this thing to really go down tomorrow, at least two republicans are going to have to join lisa murkowski and susan collins in voting no. at this point, though, republicans that we've been talking to in the last couple of minutes do not have any indications that that will happen unless something else will come to light. in addition to that affidavit that, of course, we reported exclusively on earlier this week, katy. >> julian, that was great reporting by you. i want to read a little bit of lisa murkowski statement about why she is a no vote for pete hegseth. she says, above all, i believe that character is the defining trait required of the secretary of defense and must be prioritized

without compromise. the leader of the department of defense must demonstrate and model the standards of behavior and character we expect of all service members. and mr. hague says nomination to the role poses significant concerns that i cannot overlook, given the global security environment we are operating in. it is critical that we confirm a secretary of defense. however, i regret that i am unable to support mr. hegseth. all right. i'm going to take it to you, jake. that's two people. lisa murkowski, susan collins. people were looking toward joni ernst, but she's indicated that she's going to stay on board with pete hegseth. is there anybody else that could be a no vote after all? roger wicker, the chair of the armed services committee, was signaling that he did want the vice president to stand by to be a tiebreaking vote. >> so the only. >> other person i. >> would look to is mitch mcconnell. >> mcconnell voted yes today. >> on advancing the nomination, which listen. >> it's a good signal. >> it's not a complete. you're

out of the woods situation, meaning you're going to get mcconnell's vote. i don't know that you're going. >> to. >> get his vote. he hasn't said one. >> way or another. >> listen, the people who are. >> in charge of. >> seth's nomination believe. very strongly that he will be confirmed to be secretary of defense. >> hard stop. >> now, does that mean. that that jd vance won't have to come up here. >> to break. >> a tie vote on. >> his on a. >> 830 on a friday night? no, it does not. i mean, i assume that he's going to have to break a tie vote. you know. >> it. >> does highlight that a 53. >> seat majority. >> is not you know, it's not everything. it's not the. >> biggest majority. >> in the world. >> it's a governing majority. but it's not a massive majority from which you could do anything you want. it just does highlight the tenuous nature of it. and i think as. >> we get. >> further down the road, katy, as we get to tulsi gabbard and most specifically tulsi gabbard, this. >> 53 seat. >> majority is going to be.

>> very difficult for her. >> now. they, the house. >> and the senate. >> intelligence committee did. notice gabbard's hearing for next. >> week for. >> next thursday. >> i believe it is a week from today. i'm not. sure where that stands. and to be honest with you. >> neither are. >> the is. >> the. >> is the trump white house. >> what about rfk? what about kash patel? jake. >> yeah. >> i think. >> i think kash. >> patel and rfk are probably fine. i mean, a little bit too early to know. they haven't gone through their hearings. they haven't been put through the ringer. they have done, you know, they have done meetings, but they have not been put through the ringer. i think it's a wait and see on those two. >> all right. so lisa, in terms of the hegseth allegations that julie sirkin spearheaded that reporting on yesterday, we found a little bit more out from this affidavit. initially we saw a redacted affidavit. we've seen the whole thing now. right. >> we have seen the whole thing, barring a few redactions for people's. >> names, as. >> i understand it, katie. >> and what's in it. >> the whole affidavit, the. >> part that julie and others from nbc news reported on

yesterday, is a single paragraph that reflected danielle hegseth allegations that samantha had told her that on one occasion, pete had grabbed her groin without consent during their marriage, that she recalled that conversation happening. katie, between 2014 and 2016, and that she believed what samantha had told her because she had witnessed pete behaving toward his second wife, samantha, in a way that was consistent with those allegations, that he was erratic, that he was aggressive. and then, of course, he goes on she goes on to detail her personal observations of pete hegseth and conversations with samantha hegseth and the remainder of this affidavit, which i'll also flag for you. nbc news was first to report. >> i just want to include pete hegseth has denied this through a lawyer. samantha hegseth, the second wife, has said that there was no physical abuse during their marriage. she said that to nbc news. there's also a 2021 order in their divorce proceeding, in which both parties agreed that neither parent claims to be a victim of domestic abuse. jake, one more

to you on this subject and that is why do you think lisa murkowski and susan collins feel comfortable coming out and saying no? and joni ernst does not, potentially. i don't want to put thoughts in her head, but she was more skeptical toward him before, and now she's not as skeptical. >> i could just tell you i could. i don't want to. i don't want to put them on a psychiatrist couch here and explain their psyche. but i will put some some facts out there. number one, when ernst said she was, when she signaled she might be against the nomination or she had some questions about it, she got hammered back home politically. i mean, there were people on talk radio. there were people on tv. the local party was very tough on her. that's that's joni ernst, remember? lisa murkowski has survived primaries before she won a write in campaign with the last name murkowski in alaska. that is not

easy. i mean, it is funny, katie, but i mean her political strength historically in the state of alaska is second to none. that's that's murkowski. now on collins number one. there's a lot of speculation she won't run again. we'll have to see. she has been very, very adept at running campaigns in her state against democrats as well as republicans. she won a very contested race in 2020, spent a lot of money, had a lot of money spent against her by sara gideon, who was the state house speaker. these are people who are extraordinarily comfortable in their political skin. and to be honest with you, they have all the power they need. susan collins is the chair of the appropriations committee. outside of the leadership, the most the single most powerful republican senator in the united states senate. so i think that just gives a little bit of context without without putting, without putting them in therapy for a minute. >> all right. peter baker, let's talk about donald trump's agenda and the ways in which congress is going to try to move to get

it done. he's he signed, as you know, that raft of executive orders, a lot of them on immigration, but also desires for lower taxes. these sorts of things are going to cost a lot of money. you're going to need a lot of money to fund what he wants to do at the border, how he wants to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. you're also going to need papers to get these tax breaks. how is the republican party working with him right now? >> well. >> you're right, he's putting so many things on the table, many of which are sort of hard to reconcile with each other. remember, at the same time, he's. >> talking about. >> lots, lots more spending and more tax cuts. he's also empowered elon musk to, in theory, cut $2 trillion out of the annual budget, which of course, nobody in washington thinks is possible. just today, again, he said he wanted nato countries to raise their military spending to 5% of gdp. well, we spent about 3.5% of our gdp on the military. if we were to go to the target he has just

set for nato, that would be another $567 billion right there. so i think you're seeing, of course, the at some point in the coming weeks where reality begins to bite and they begin to have to make tough choices, which promises are they going to actually try to keep, and how will they try to keep them in ways that are satisfying to trump? and which ones can they push off to later in his term, or just kind of fuzz away? >> julie, what about these payoffs to get the tax breaks? what social welfare programs could be on the on the table, on the chopping block? >> well, certainly elon musk and others have suggested social security, medicare, these are really the programs that would make the biggest spending cuts happen. but of course, top republicans are extremely concerned about that. katy, for good reason. you'll remember when senator rick scott even floated a plan to sunset social security and medicare programs. the stir that that caused that moment between marjorie taylor greene and president biden on the floor. so this is a really delicate dance. ultimately, though, they're not going to be able to make the kind of cuts they want to make unless they make those big cuts that will affect so many millions of

americans. this is such a live ball as jake sherman and others, of course, have reported. but certainly this is something that republicans are considering. if donald trump puts pressure on them to make it happen, especially as they consider these budget bills over the next couple of weeks, and they have to start figuring out what they can cut to get the tax cuts across the finish line, to get the border policies that trump wants, the energy policies that he wants. i mean, those are spenders, and they're going to have to find places to cut. obviously, those things are unpopular with the american people. so back home in their districts, members of congress are going to be hearing from them here in washington. they're going to get the pressure from the other side of pennsylvania avenue at the white house, trying to get them to do what trump wants them to do here. katie. >> jake, you got name checked. >> at least, right? >> i mean, this is an incredibly this just highlights to me how unrealistic the expectation is that mike johnson, the speaker of the house, has put out, that is that indicates he'll have this done by the end of before the easter slash passover break here on capitol hill. i just don't see that happening. i

mean, these are incredibly difficult choices about cutting incredibly difficult programs, incredibly popular programs. and remember, you go back to 2010, 2012 when republicans get into the word chopping things game. it never works out well for them. paul ryan was very big on that. he was on the vice presidential. he was the vice presidential nominee in 2012. barack obama beat him and mitt romney. it's just very difficult. and remember, and that doesn't even get into the tax side. so you're talking about two different sides of the ledger, the cuts and the taxes. so that doesn't get into the state and local tax deduction. whether you're going to cut tax on tips, whether you're going to cut tax on social security for americans living abroad, for first responders, for military families. these are all things donald trump has, has, has proposed on the campaign trail. really good politics. don't doubt that difficult when you get in this building and you have to turn your rhetoric from out in the country to legislation, it gets real difficult. >> it does. but peter baker, as you have written in the times today, donald trump feels like

he has all sorts of authority at this moment in particular, he's acting much more like a, as you write a king than anything else. >> yeah. return of the king. that was how elon musk put it, is not a comparison that trump's circle shies away from it. he enjoys it. he enjoys the idea of it. he enjoys the trappings of power and sort of a sort of regal royalty kind of look to his presidency, but also on policy. right. he's pushing the boundaries of executive power in so many ways in which he's basically accruing power to himself. he's declaring a national emergency, not just on the border, which is something he did in his first term. now he's declaring a national energy emergency so he can take all sorts of policy he wants to do without necessarily having to consult with congress. he has ignored the law that congress passed on a bipartisan vote banning tiktok and single handedly simply said, i'm not going to enforce that law. he's trying to rewrite the constitution in terms of the 14th amendment on birthright citizenship. a federal judge in washington state today called that blatantly unconstitutional, as he issued a ruling blocking

him temporarily from that. so he is acting at this point in these first few days, as somebody who is taking a great deal of authority to himself, and we'll see whether the checks and balances of the system assert themselves. >> yeah, not to mention the retesting once again of the emoluments clause with that bitcoin move that he made the day before the inauguration. peter baker, jake. sherman, julie sirkin, lisa rubin, everyone, thank you very much for starting us off. still ahead, donald trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship. we were just talking about it. well, the levers of power have now just pushed back. as a federal judge says, not so fast. you can't just overturn a constitutional amendment. also, two new wildfires are spreading across los angeles county when the area is expected to get some desperately needed rain. and what the new threat that and the new threat that that could bring. plus, donald trump is mapping out his revenge plans. what mistake he said joe biden

made when he issued a round of last minute pardons to his last minute pardons to his family members. we're back in what tractor supply customers experience is personalized service. made possible by t-mobile for business. with t-mobile's reliable 5g business internet. employees get the information they need instantly. this is how business goes further with t-mobile for business. this charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy edges. it's no ordinary square. charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better, with more cushiony softness. enjoy the go, with charmin. a huge difference in our health. more energy, more playful. no more pooping issues. >> i'm doctor. >> marty, i've been a veterinarian for more than 50 years. the dangerous ingredients. >> added to. >> many pet foods. >> could. >> be impacting your dog's

lifespan. that's why i formulated nature's blend. >> now you can feed your dog wholesome cuts of real meat, vegetables and fruit with no artificial preservatives or fillers. try doctor marty risk free. go to doctor marty pets.com slash tv. muscle cramps were keeping me up at night, so then i tried slimming the magnesium plus calcium supplement that helps relax tense muscles so i can rest comfortably and slow. magic tablets have a slow release formula that's gentle on my stomach. that's why i use slow magic. >> introducing a revolution in pain relief. absorbing junior pro the strongest numbing pain relief available. it's the only solution with two max strength anesthetics for fast penetrating relief absorbing junior pro. nothing numbs pain more. >> than the 14th amendment, as it is currently understood, is still the law of the land. a federal judge in seattle just blocked president trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship, calling the attempt at overturning it in the 14th amendment with an executive order blatantly

unconstitutional. but that was just one of the many executive orders and decisions on immigration as of now, the others are still moving forward. today, the pentagon says they are sending an additional 1500 troops to the border to support border patrol and help them shut off access to asylum. they're also more than doubling detention capacity down there, and the administration is giving dea agents deportation powers. the goal is to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. they've said so over and over and over again. but how functionally realistic is that? how does that actually happen? joining us now, nbc news homeland security correspondent julie ainslie, senior fellow at the american immigration council, dara lind, msnbc legal correspondent lisa rubin as well, is still with us. so, julie, first off, bring us up to speed on all of the things, and it feels like they're happening as we speak that the administration is doing to try to try to shut off the border,

to try to close it entirely, but then also to begin the process of rounding people up and sending them home. >> yeah. katie, from. >> where we sit right now and look, a lot could change in the days and weeks to come. but from where we sit right now, i would say the biggest changes have been at the border. cutting off asylum really entirely. we've been speaking with people at the border who say that now migrants can't even present themselves at legal ports of entry to claim asylum. they're turned back. of course, he turned off the cbp one app, so people who had appointments to claim asylum here could no longer get through. and he's continuing what biden started, where people really cannot claim asylum if they cross between ports of entry and encounter border patrol, that is a fundamental change and really could end up taking them to court. as we know, they've already been challenged by the aclu here in d.c. because they're arguing that the united states is really in violation of an obligation to uphold asylum as an international right. as far as what's happening on the interior, not as much as we thought so far. a lot of the

arrests that you've seen are part of normal, normal operations. routine operations is what i've been told from sources at ice that a lot of these people were already on their list. i've been out on arrests like that. just this summer i was with isis. they arrested people who were wanted for murder in their home countries. gabe gutierrez just did a similar ride along with ice in boston. we're going to see a lot of pictures. katie and i want everyone to be prepared to see these arrests be made far more public than we've seen in the past, but right now, the numbers aren't reflecting anything quite above average. for example, in september, the number of people who ice arrested every day was a 282. we understand from tom homan the borders are that first 24 hours they arrested 308. not a huge jump. that could change, though, with the way you see stephen miller and others talking about using other law enforcement agencies and the military to go do more arrests. but in the end, ice is and $230 million budget shortfall even to do their current operations. so it looks

like right now the biggest impact is on the border. >> can the military arrest people? do they have that authority? lisa? >> not unless you call this an invasion, which many people on the trump side would say it is. from a legal perspective, i think there's a very healthy, if not strong argument that it is not so the use of the military here to get involved in the detention or even deportation of undocumented immigrants is not only unprecedented, katie, but something that's without legal authority, as far as i'm understanding. >> i'm curious how exactly they can get this done. i mean, they're talking a big game about wanting to take people and get them out of the country, but functionally speaking, they've got to send them somewhere, and not all countries are going to accept they're the people who have left and the countries that are going to accept them, like places like mexico and guatemala, who are trying to get ready for it, can only accept so many at one time. darrell, i know you study this. walk me through just the hurdles that

donald trump is going to be facing. practically speaking. >> right. so we've identified through this conversation the three kind. >> of big. >> things the government. >> has to do. >> to take someone. >> who's currently living. >> in. >> the us and take them to the point where they can say they're. >> deported, they have. >> to arrest them. they have to have. >> somewhere to hold them in government custody. >> until such time as they can deport. >> them, and. >> they have to deport them. they have to have the. >> seat on the plane, and. >> they have to have a country that will accept them. >> and really, those deportation flights are negotiated. not quite on a flight by flight basis, but it's very close. >> so many of. >> the people who the trump administration. >> has said. are already. >> in the united. >> states. >> and have final. >> orders of deportation. the reason those haven't. >> been executed yet is because their home country will not take any flights from the us, or will take only very limited flights. >> from the us. >> either for diplomatic reasons or. >> because they. >> just don't have the. capacity to take that many deportees. >> so this is going. >> to be a diplomatic effort as much as anything. secretary of

state marco rubio has announced that. >> his. >> first trip is. >> going to be. >> to many central american and caribbean countries. and presumably on the agenda, there is going to be trying to get them to take more deportees from their own country and potentially from other countries as well. but the question of what can be done, everything kind of backs up from there. the more the fewer people you can deport, the more people you have to be holding in these temporary facilities that are extremely expensive to maintain. and the fewer people ultimately you can arrest who are in the community without running out. >> and i'm assuming that there are some smaller countries who want to have good relationships with the united states who will say, yes, we're going to take some people. we're going to we can take some some foreigners as well that aren't our countries, maybe not their original home, but places like mexico. i mean, they have interesting leverage here as well, because mexico is really the last stop. and if we want to if this administration, the united states wants to really shut things off at the border, really close down crossings, they need the willing cooperation of mexico. but

mexico also has a trade deal that they want, you know, they want to be treated fairly, maybe better by donald trump. so what sort of leverage might the mexican president have. >> in 2019? we were actually in a very similar situation with the trump administration, threatening very, very punitive tariffs on mexico throughout the spring. and then in early summer, announcing a deal with then mexican president andres manuel lopez obrador to for mexico to take people who had asylum hearings set in the us to have them waiting. the remain in mexico policy that had been in place before, but it had been much more limited. it became much more widespread. that was a massive turning point in terms of the ability, the willingness of the mexican government to just kind of accept the terms as dictated to them by the us. if the us is able to do something like that, if they're able to get mexico back to a similar posture, either in letting people stay temporarily while

they nominally have asylum hearings or in accepting deportees, that's huge. but right. if mexico decides that they are going to take a stand on that issue and force concessions on trade, on energy, on any of the other issues in which there might be mexican interests, then we have a much more interesting situation. and the current president has said that she will accept deportees for humanitarian reasons, but then turned around and said that she would not accept people under the remain in mexico program. so it's not at all clear where things. actually. >> it seems like there's a negotiation here that she does have some power of her own. how much? there's also funding involved here. i mean, the united states helps fund humanitarian projects, especially in south and latin america. how much money do they need? is it does it does it behoove this administration to continue to try and help some of these economies, some of these governments, in order to make it less desirable for people to come here? they're fleeing one. they're fleeing violence. yes. they have they have credible asylum claims, but they're also

fleeing poverty and opportunity, lack of opportunity in their home countries. so if there's not if not, if it's not a better situation down there, there's going to be a whole lot of people who might just turn around and try to come back again. >> this has been the argument for some time, and it's actually why vice president joe biden, way back in the day, made a big effort of expanding development aid to the countries that were at that point sending the most migrants to the us, which then president donald trump then clawed back during his first term. the problem with what's called the kind of root causes argument, as you've just laid it out politically, is that it takes a really long time for that to come to fruition. so like the numbers at the border aren't going to go down next month, which makes politicians a little bit leery to accept it. but there is an alternative way of thinking about it, which is that the us is by no means the only rich country in the hemisphere. there are other places that have that have a whole lot of refugees. the venezuelan refugee crisis has been an absolutely hemisphere wide problem, and they are doing some a better job than others of, you know, integrating those

refugees into their economy, of giving them temporary or semi-permanent legal status. there is an argument to be made for a development agenda that focuses on making allowing people to, like, be at home where they are. if you're really that interested in deterring people from coming to the us, giving them other alternatives other than a binary choice between staying at home and coming here. >> oh dear. i'm so happy we had you today. thank you so much for being here and please do come back on this story, julie. thank you as well. julia ainsley, excuse me and lisa, i presume the case against the 14th amendment that donald trump wants to banish or ban birthright citizenship. i assume now they're going to appeal that and it's going to go up to the supreme court. >> they will. i mean, before we even get to the supreme court, katie, remember that there are cases pending in other districts in the country. today's order, while it enjoins that eo or executive order for 14 days nationwide, that gives the administration not only time to appeal, but it also gives other courts around the country time to make their own decisions about the applicability of the ban and its constitutionality.

>> it's such a big story, and we're going to be following it so closely. ladies, thank you very much. and still ahead, what's complicating efforts to contain the new wildfires now burning in southern california? and it's not just lawmakers that are having mixed reaction to trump's blanket pardon of january 6th rioters, some of the rioters and the sympathizers themselves, what they're saying as they're walking free, but also complaining a little, don't go anywhere. >> no matter why you started your business, your goal is to keep on growing. and with the help of financing from caps, you can meet all of your business goals. because at capetus we finance the legacy builders, the creators, the freedom chasers, the opportunity seekers. at the opportunity seekers. at capetus, we finance ♪♪ some people just know they can save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first.

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>> let me show you. this is good news. they've been able to do these water drops. we've seen this repeatedly. now these choppers going behind the ridge to the lagoon nearby, filling up. and then you can watch as they go and drop water on these flames. they've also been able to drop fire retardant. and so they've been making an aggressive firefight here to be able to get a handle on this fire. >> water drops are amazing out there. nbc's liz kreutz reporting on the huge fire. officials in l.a. county say that blaze is about 14% contained, but they're still very worried as high winds continue to whip southern california, which is why another round of evacuations are in effect. and this time it's affecting 30,000 people. joining us now from valencia, california is nbc news correspondent dana griffin. so two fires, one in l.a. county, one in ventura. what is the latest? >> yeah. katie, you saw the images from liz. take a look. now, firefighters have done an amazing job by doing those water

drops and flame retardant drops. there's just a slight haze in the air, but you can see just how close the fire got to these homes. that hillside is where that fire started coming through yesterday. and firefighters have done an amazing job. so we are at a command post where just about an hour ago we saw governor gavin newsom here. he was getting a briefing at this building here, this command post, this mobile command post, along with the u.s. representative george whitesides. and i asked, you know, whitesides, how did it go in there? and he says, essentially, firefighters have saved castaic. that's just how great of a job that they've done. it is 14% containment right now. but we're just seeing maybe some smoldering, not those active flames where we saw that big orange ominous cloud where school children were evacuating. some at the high school were a little nervous. this area has been on edge for the last two weeks because of those deadly wildfires, the palisades and eton fires. so as this red flag

warning is in effect, we are not out of the woods yet because there is still the potential for new fires to pop up. there was another one that popped up earlier today. it looks like firefighters are getting that one under control as well. >> what about the threat that comes with the imminent rain that's coming? so good news. there's going to be some rain forecasted for i think on sunday a couple of inches in some places, but that's not entirely a good thing. and can you explain to me why. >> that's such a good question, katie. so when we have a wildfire, it leaves burn scars. and so when we get rain, that water cannot penetrate all the ash and debris. so it just sits on top and it creates mudslides and landslides, and that debris flow can flow into communities and create more issues. we've already seen one home that slid off its foundation because of a water leak just last week. so there is a concern right now. mayor bass has issued an executive order to try to shore up those burn scar areas.

they're getting rid of debris. they're putting in some extra barriers to kind of shore up that area to protect it. it's unclear how much rain, i believe a quarter of an inch likely, but we don't know how much can be dumped in particular areas. so it is a concerning but obviously much needed rain for this region. >> katie definitely needed to try to soak some of the all that dry brush, but again, the worry of mudslides in california after those fires. it's always a problem. living in california is difficult, can be difficult. dana griffin, thank you so much. and still ahead are some january 6th rioters biting the hand that pardons them. the mixed reaction, surprisingly, that trump's blanket decision is stirring up among those who participated in january 6th or were sympathetic to it. plus, does hamas still rule gaza? the

goal of this war, which has now been going on for about 18 months, a little bit less than that, was to get rid of hamas? that's what israel said. but hamas is still very much there, and it appears still very much in charge. we've got that story in charge. we've got that story coming up. don't go incoming dishes. —ahhh! —duck! dawn powerwash flies through 99% of grease and grime in half the time. yeah, it absorbs grease five times faster. even replaces multiple cleaning products. ooh, those suds got game. dawn powerwash. the better grease getter. day with a new limited. >> time offer from. >> jacuzzi bath remodel. we're waiving all. installation costs with no interest and no payments for up to. >> one year. >> hi. >> i'm. art edmonds. >> jacuzzi has been making water feel. >> great for. >> over 70. >> years. >> and now you can get a gorgeous custom bathroom model at a price you. >> can afford. >> and the best part is, they'll install.

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>> donald trump has just signed a number of executive orders, new ones. joining us now nbc news white house correspondent yamiche alcindor. i heard that

these also include unclassified or declassifying the records regarding jfk. >> that's right. so president trump just spoke to reporters in the oval office, and he did sign five executive orders, as you said, want to run through them. the first one is that he is concerned with ai, and it's intended to move the u.s. to the forefront of the artificial intelligence movement. the second one is related to crypto, and it is designed to make america the capital of crypto. the third was to establish a presidential council on science and technology, and then after that, there were also. >> you know. >> what, yamiche, i'm so sorry to interrupt you, but let's let's watch. we have video. >> of this. >> do you want to? >> yeah. mr. president, this is an executive. >> order on crypto. >> we're going to be. oh, sorry. >> we're doing it. >> sorry. this is. >> an. >> executive order on ai. >> we're forming. >> we're we're basically announcing the administration's. >> policy to. >> make america the world. >> capital in. >> artificial intelligence and to dominate. >> and to lead the world.

>> in ai. >> do you want to say your name, your phone? >> david? >> i'm sorry. >> david is one of the greatest in the world at ai, most respected. probably there is. so that should take us to the forefront, right? >> absolutely. we got to win. >> okay. thank you. thank you sir. >> and miss david is. >> yeah. >> this is the crypto eo. >> we're going to be forming an. >> internal working. >> group to make. crypto to make america. >> the world. >> capital in. >> crypto under. >> your leadership. >> which is really going. >> up, right? >> absolutely. >> david. >> that's for you. thanks.

>> you find them exciting? they might not be excited, but they're going to make a lot of money for the country. thank you sir. and so is david. you have to check him out. there's nobody like this guy. they said how did you get david sacks. how did you do that. and he's he's doing it for the country more than anything else. so we appreciate it. david, thank you very much. >> this is. >> an executive order. establishing a presidential commission, an advisory commission on science and technology. >> do you. >> want to explain that a little bit? the basic idea. >> is to get. >> together top people from government to private sector, technology industry, as well as educational institutions to make

sure that america maintains its leadership position with respect to science and technology development in the years ahead. >> good. that's great. >> next, sir, we have a presidential memorandum encouraging departments and agencies in your government, including the department of the interior, to promote federal recognition of the lumbee tribe of north carolina. >> i love the lumbee tribe. so this is their first big step, right? >> this would be a huge step for them. >> yeah, they were with me all the way. they were great. north carolina lumbee tribe. >> okay. >> we'll send you'll send them a copy of that? >> yes, sir. >> they were great. >> okay. >> if you'd like, i could get them that pen, sir, as well. >> yeah. >> let's do the.

>> next. we have a set of pardons for peaceful pro-life protesters who were prosecuted by the biden administration for exercising their first amendment rights. >> do you know how many? >> i believe it's 23, sir. >> 23 people were prosecuted. they should not have been prosecuted. many of them are elderly people. they should not have been prosecuted. this is a great honor to sign this. they'll be very happy. so they're all in prison now? >> some are. some are out of custody. >> ridiculous. okay.

>> lastly, sir, we have an executive order ordering the declassification of files relating to the assassinations of president john f kennedy, senator robert f kennedy, and reverend doctor martin luther king, jr. >> that's a big one. a lot of people are waiting for this for a long, for years, for decades. and everything will be revealed. >> okay. >> give that. to rfk jr. >> yes, sir. okay. okay. thank you. >> mr. president. >> mr. president. >> mr. president, a u.s. judge temporarily blocks. >> the birthright citizenship order. do you have any reaction? >> no. >> obviously, it will appeal if they put it before a certain judge in seattle, i guess.

right. and there's no surprises with that judge. >> mr. mr. president, senator. >> collins and murkowski have now said they will vote. >> against ppe. >> are you worried about this. confirmation and your reaction? >> and no surprises there. too bad. it's the way the way it is too bad. >> and when would. >> you. >> adjourn congress to make. >> recess appointments, mr. president? >> well, i'd take a look at that. i listened to john thune. he's doing a fantastic job. we're moving along. the democrats are trying to delay government, as they always do. they can't help themselves. even john ratcliffe, who's very, very strong, very popular and liked by the democrats, i guess he gets a lot of democrat votes, and that's taken a long time. and it shouldn't be taken a long time. they're maxing everything out so they can delay everything as much as possible. >> sir. >> support an effort to use. >> recess appointments. if you choose. >> to. >> do that, i'd be willing to use recess appointments. it's up to john. we'll see. and john

thune is a great guy. great senator knows this stuff inside out and backwards. but i would use recess appointments if he wants to do that. absolutely, sir. the democrats are just delaying. they always delay. >> mr. president. >> you spoke with the saudi. >> crown prince yesterday. >> who? >> the saudi. >> crown prince. >> how was the. >> right? >> and they said. >> $600 million. >> billion dollars. >> they can invest 600. >> i'll ask him for a trillion. >> you said you can ask for a. >> trillion. >> saudi arabia. >> would be the first foreign country you will visit since. >> they invested. >> that much. >> well, if they do that, i would. yeah. i would be glad to do that. i did it, as you know, four years ago we did $450 billion, meaning the money all goes to american companies. and they purchased jets and they purchase computers and everything else. and we did 450 billion. and i guess we're at 600, 650. and i'll see if i can

talk him into. >> it. >> again. you showed great confidence in steve. >> witkoff why you said. >> that you doubt. >> that the ceasefire in gaza. will hold. >> since you. appraised his. >> well, no, i think he's great. >> but it's a very tricky place. it's very tricky. and we'll see. and if it if something does happen, they will not be happy, sir. >> follow up on. >> that one. >> in terms. >> of steve witkoff. >> are. you going to put him in charge of. >> iran strategy? >> and do you. >> want him talking. directly with the iranians? >> no. >> but he certainly is somebody i would use. he's done a fantastic job. he's a great negotiator. he's a very good person, great. a very popular person gets along with people. i have great negotiators. they they have no personality whatsoever. and then i have some that do. steve has a wonderful way about him and people like him. and even in this case, both sides like him. and he was able to make a deal. that deal would have never been made without steve. the biden people couldn't make the deal. they were working on it for a year and a half. they couldn't make a deal. we

got it done prior to the inauguration. we said it has to be before the inauguration. i mean, the deal should hold, but if it doesn't hold, there'll be. >> a lot of problems. >> related to. your i eo. >> just hours after. >> you made that big star date announcement, elon musk tweeted that they don't actually have the money. is that true? >> i don't know if they do, but you know they're putting up the money. the government is not putting up anything. they're putting up money. they're very rich people. so i hope they do. and i mean, elon doesn't like one of those people. so. >> i is going to replace. >> many american jobs. >> no. >> no, no. it's going to create tremendous numbers of jobs. it's going to also create a lot of benefits medically for cancer research and other things. it's going to have a huge positive impact. and, you know, we want to be ahead of china. we right now way ahead of china. and david sacks is one of the all time experts. you know, that people are amazed that he you just met him i don't know if

he's still here. there he is. but but one of the most respected people in that world. it's a world. it's a whole different world. and we're ahead of china now because of what i'm doing. and i think it's going to be very successful. >> mr. >> you just asked. >> the davos forum again, that's. nato countries should. spend 5% of. gdp on defense. the united states don't spend 5%. >> i should. >> also apply. >> to the. >> united states. we're protecting them. you know, they're not protecting us. we're protecting them. so i don't think we should be spending i'm not sure we should be spending anything, but we should certainly be helping them. but they should they should up their 2% to 5%. yeah. >> mr. president, mr. >> president, mr. president, you said earlier during your speech. >> at davos. >> that. >> you would. >> like to see interest rates come down. how much would you like to see them come down. >> and you would. >> like to see them come down a lot. and oil prices will come down. and when oil prices come down, everything's going to be cheaper for the american people and actually for the world, but for the american people. so i'd

like to see oil prices come down. and when the energy comes down, that's going to knock out a lot of the inflation that's going to automatically bring the interest rates down. >> are you worried. >> that you said. >> that you. >> were. >> worried that there's too much going on at once? >> if you're trying to bring interest rates down and get the economy back. >> going. >> it just works that way. i mean, it's. just economically works that way. when the oil comes down, it'll bring down prices. then you won't have inflation and then the interest rates will come down. >> you said. >> that you would. >> demand that the interest rates come down. >> well, i would expect. >> i would put in a strong statement. >> do you expect the fed to. >> listen to you? >> yeah. >> are you going to talk to powell about this and bring the rates down. >> at the. >> right time? >> i would. >> be pardoned if that were participated in the. >> january 6th, 2021 event. >> do you plan. to meet with any. >> of them or meet with them. >> at. >> the white house? >> i don't know, i'm sure that they probably would like to. i did, i did them something important, but what they did is they were protesting a crooked

election. and, you know, i mean, people understand that also, and they were treated very badly. nobody's been treated like that. so i'd be open to it. certainly. i don't know of anything like that, but i think they're going to meet in some of the congress people, congressmen and women are going to want to meet. but i'd certainly be open to. >> have you. >> spoken to them since you. >> issued the pardons? >> i haven't spoken to any of them yet, but i know they're very happy. >> mr. president. >> i gave them their life back. their life was taken away from them unnecessarily and unfairly. i gave them their life back. so i can imagine they probably would like to. >> mr. president, what did you mean. >> when you said. that biden took bad advice. >> and not party to himself yesterday? >> well, he did, i think he did because he he pardoned all these people that are crooked as hell. look, the congressmen, they're crooked. what they did is they destroyed evidence. when you destroy evidence, especially criminally like that, they did it criminally. and the reason they destroyed the evidence is because it proved that i was right. they didn't destroy evidence for no reason. they destroyed it because they found many documents saying that i

offered 10,000 soldiers if they had 500 soldiers or national guard, there would have been no problem. if they had 200, that would have been. i offered 10,000. if they needed them, there would have been no problem. that's been now totally disproven. and it's also been disproven by nancy pelosi's daughter, who has her on tape saying it was her fault that she has full responsibility for this. but and they have all that stuff, they destroyed everythin. and they go through a year and a half, two years of nonsense. they come up with tremendous evidence and they destroyed evidence. and schiff knew about it. that's why he's on there. he knew all about the destruction of evidence. a lot of people said he's the one that got him to do it. and he's a crooked guy, totally crooked politician. and so he's pardoned and some other people are pardoned. and these are crooked politicians, every one of them. many. johnson. what he did is incredible. i mean, he was the leader of the committee and he

did it. cheney crying. adam kinzinger, all of them. they destroyed evidence and deleted everything. there's nothing. there's no evidence now. they're crooked politicians and they should be punished. you know, if that's even in a civil trial, you go to jail for a thing like that. they destroyed every document. from what i understand, every document, because it proved that i was totally innocent. >> mr. president, to send up to. >> 10,000 troops to the southern border. >> yeah. >> a southern border. >> yes. >> when you say southern border, when i say 10,000 troops, i was referring to the capital. >> oh i see. >> and. >> when do you plan? i offered 10,000 troops to the capital before january. >> okay, so donald trump is sending a number of executive orders there, including one that could be quite interesting regarding the declassification of files on the assassinations of jfk, rfk, and mlk. we'll wait

to see what comes out of that. he was also asked about the pardoning of those 1500 january 6th rioters, including some very violent ones who attacked police officers viciously and were convicted by by juries of their peers, and also the heads of two militia groups who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. and he claims that he hasn't. well, let's bring in yamiche alcindor. yamiche, walk me through his response. and, you know, but that up to reality. >> well, president trump there was just saying that he gave the january 6th rioters people who were, as you said, convicted some of them of violent crimes back their lives, saying that they were being treated unfairly. we should also note that he also pardoned some anti-abortion protesters, as well as part of these executive orders that he signed. so he was in some ways, i think, really just trying to hammer home the point that he believes he's someone who has a mandate. he

believes that he's someone. after winning the popular vote in all the battleground states. as someone who talked about the fact that he was going to pardon these january 6th rioters, that he is fulfilling what people, what he believes people wanted him to do. but of course, there are a lot of critics to this, including we've seen some unions, the fraternal order of police and a number of other police organizations saying that they are disturbed by this, by these executive orders and by these pardons, because some of these people violently attacked police officers. and, of course, there were some fatalities when it comes to january 6th. so definitely a controversial action by president trump, but one that he is definitely standing by. >> there, the signing of the executive order regarding jfk, rfk and mlk. this is something that he had promised to do during his first administration, but but didn't follow through on. any indication about what might have changed? why? why this time might be different from him, or whether these executive orders are actually going to declassify all of the information? >> it's still unclear to me

exactly what information is going to be declassified from those assassinations. but we remember as a country that that was a terrible period, and that there are a lot of questions surrounding the death of martin luther king. of course, president john f kennedy and his brother robert f kennedy, who is of course, son are of kennedy jr, is now serving in the trump administration. and the president, just a few moments ago was saying, hey, give this to rfk jr, indicating that he is understanding that this is going to have a sort of connection to someone who is now serving in his administration. so i'll be very interested, interested to see what information comes from that declassification. there are going to be a lot of americans, including some who voted for donald trump, but some who did not, who still want to see what information the federal government might have had that it didn't share with the public so far. katie. >> and then finally, yamiche, on crypto, donald trump is very much into it now. he's got elon musk around him who's also very much into crypto. he himself introduced his own coin. just i

think the day before the inauguration. can you explain this new desire to be a lead on it? >> well, i would love to say that i completely understand crypto. what i can tell you is, and i know a lot of americans are still also wrapping their heads around sort of the machinations of crypto. what he's saying is that this executive order in the in the actions that it's going to take, is going to really solidify america's standing when it comes to crypto and really, in some ways allow this country to benefit as much as possible from crypto. so it'll be very interesting to see what the actual consequences of that executive order will be. katie. >> all right. yamiche alcindor, thank you very much for joining us. and i'm going to hand it now to deadline white house, which starts right this second. >> hi there everyone. you made it to thursday. >> it's 4:00 in new york. >> today. a. >> federal.

>> judge giving donald trump the fi